Occam's Razor
by Guns and Drums
Summary: "Simpler explanations are, other things being equal, generally better than more complex ones. Lex parsimoniae." Decidedly not a 'ship fic. AU/AH.
1. Chapter 1

**If something in quotes is **_**italicized**_** it's probably in Spanish. There's a key at the bottom if you need it.**

**Please be warned that Bella uses some unappealing language – and not just swear words. This is in no way a reflection on my own feelings or views. Unfortunately she's a naïve and ignorant teenage girl sometimes.**

**Three chapters. Updates on Fridays.**

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><p>How can two people, born in the same one-wing county hospital, raised in the same neighborhood, attend the same schools be so inherently different? Beyond musical tastes and clique membership. Something more basic, more fundamental to the human being.<p>

Over a hundred billion people that had ever lived and walked this planet and no two were the same. Not even close. Bella wanted to know how that was even possible. Especially for two people who – for all intents and purposes – shared so much in common.

Maybe it was divine intervention. Maybe something had gone awry in one of their families, generations ago – like a massive butterfly affect – and here they were today. Much the same when it came down to numbers and demographics, but so inherently different.

Maybe it was a genetic fluke. Accidents happen, right? Who says the chemicals in our bodies don't miss something every now and then. But when they make a baby, that missed piece becomes permanent and changes who they were into who they will become.

Or maybe, as Bella was wont to believe, two people can be so different just because. For the simple reason of meeting others who would be different from them, and learning a thing or two they didn't know they'd ever been missing.

Maybe that's why they were so different. Simply to learn from each other.

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><p>"Miss Swan?" she heard an irritable tenor sound from behind her. Her shoulders sagged in defeat and she felt her eyes compulsively roll to the ceiling. She painted a pretty smile on her face and turned on her squeaky Vans.<p>

"Yes, Mr. Banner?" Bella faked coy. Pretending she was not currently standing in the backroom of the science department where the hazardous stuff was kept. Where students were strictly forbidden. She pretended she was not in an off-limits zone, standing in a puddle of water and frog piss, holding an empty terrarium as the last 'ribbit' hopped out the window behind her.

"Are you a PETA advocate now, too?" he replied acidly. He was trying to not to lose it – Bella could tell. By all accounts, Mr Banner was actually a pretty damn good teacher. Which is why her series of disciplinary infractions had steered away from him. She liked the guy. She think he's been waiting, though, knowing it's only a matter of time before her teenage wasteland lands on his doorstep.

That day was today.

"Follow me, Miss Swan." He crooked a finger and did an immediate about face. Bella plopped the terrarium on the ground and slogged after him. It was lunch period and the halls were rather empty. She knew Mr. Banner had duty in the café today. That's why she chose today. This wasn't a simply act of defiance. She really felt bad for those little toads. That's why she tried to be subtle about it just this once.

The two entered the Administrative Office and Bella plopped into a chair in the waiting area while Mr. Banner headed into Principal Greene's office.

"Good morning, Bella," Mrs. Cope greeted her without a movement from behind her copy of _Good Housekeeping_.

"Morning, Mrs. Cope," Bella sighed. Only a few weeks left in this hell-hole and she'd spent more time in this very chair than anywhere else. Bella Swan sat alone these days. They gave up calling Charlie her sophomore year. Now he just called in for weekly reports.

She was wondering whether or not they'd burn this chair or have her name embroidered in it after she graduated but was interrupted by a banging on the glass behind her. She flipped her head up and caught Jasper Hale's curly blonde mop in her periphery as he tapped the glass with his keys. She got up and stepped outside. Mrs. Cope didn't even flinch.

When Bella got out to the hallway, she forcefully shoved him back – using all her one hundred pounds of brute force. "What the hell?" she growled as he stumbled half a step. The boy was a full foot taller than her – she really had no chance at roughing him up, but he humored her.

"_Belleza_?" he tried to calm her down. "What's wrong?"

"You, Jay. You were supposed to keep an eye on Banner for me today. Remember_?_" she whined.

"Sorry gorgeous," he shrugged with that charismatic grin. "Newton was making me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Well, thanks – Don Jasper," she curtsied gently, "because you screwed me over."

"_Pobrecito_," Jasper pouted at her. He plucked a daisy from the pocket of his flannel shirt and tucked it behind Bella's ear in her wild auburn hair. "You'll survive."

He planted a kiss on her forehead and tossed his keys in the air. "I'm out. Call me when they parole you. I'll come get you."

"Bitch," she called to him halfway down the hallway.

"The one and only," he chuckled and waved without turning as he slipped out the door. Bella growled to herself in irritation.

Jasper Hale had been her best friend since second grade. He was her first sleepover, her first kiss. The two shared beds and secrets and food and head colds and awkward moments. Bella was at his house when she first got her period. He was sitting next to her when he got his first public hard on for their seventh grade algebra teacher.

Jasper meant the world to Bella and they shared absolutely everything. They were highly involved in each others' lives. Though not in a way that most kids at Forks High thought. He would buy her tampons when she was crippled on his couch with cramps. She showered him down when he got rip-roaring drunk. They had this barrier-less symbiosis. They had no secrets.

And Bella therefore knew him to be a flaky bitch. Maybe it was just his nature. If you needed him for something important – he was there. But if you wanted him to get you a bag of Cheetos while he was up or make a copy of a lab assignment? Forget about it. Boy was a scatterbrain.

"Miss Swan?" Bella's thoughts were derailed by Mr. Greene's tired voice. She shook her head and trudged past Mr. Banner and Mrs. Cope into his office. She shut the door and flopped unceremoniously into the middle of three chairs.

He was looking over her file. She didn't know why. The man had it memorized. Hand wrote most of it himself. He didn't acknowledge Bella's entry for a moment.

"All right, Miss Swan," he began dropping the file down. He propped his elbows on the desk and leaned into his hands. "What's the story?"

One of the nice things about Mr. Greene – despite his constantly doling out 'disciplinary consequences' Bella's way – is that he always asked her side of the story before the gavel crashed down. Granted, she _was_ totally breaking school policy every time but she supposed the 'asking the student' bit was good when a sticky situation rolled around. It lead her to believe he was at least a fair man.

"I set some lab frogs free."

"Way I hear it you set five hundred lab frogs free."

She shrugged, "More or less."

"You know we provide a computer software option to those students that don't feel comfortable with a live dissection." He leaned back in his chair waiting for Bella's reply.

She rolled my eyes. "That's not the point Mr. Greene. They're still going to get killed. I can slice a frog open without squealing like a girl, but it doesn't mean I should. If I don't – someone else will."

"That does not," he slowly shook his head, "give you license to enter a restricted area. You could've been injured." He continued before Bella was able to interrupt. "I'm going to offer you a deal, Miss Swan. Your academics are in good standing and I have no reason to keep you here after a few weeks from today when you graduate. I can, however, make your remaining time here… unpleasant."

Bella didn't like the sound of that. "This is my final offer. You still have not completed the requisite community service hours for graduation. I propose you pick between working as a food service aide or participating in the Forks High PAL program in the Special Education department in order to fulfill that. Of course this should also help your sudden and unerring humanitarian feelings."

"You want me to sling chop suey in the café or work with the speds?" she asked incredulously.

"_Special Education_, Bella. I'm afraid you'd find your vocabulary not well received. That is my final offer. And as per school mandate, you would not be allowed to any extracurricular events or activities and will serve a biweekly office detention."

She scoffed and leaned back in her chair. She _was_ getting off pretty easy, actually. She didn't go to anything this school sponsored and one hour per week staring at a wall? Not too shabby. But this community service bull? Not so much.

"It's that," Mr. Greene explained, "or you return for the fall semester next year to complete the credits. And you don't get to walk graduation this spring."

Fan-freaking-tastic. Bella had shit she wanted to do with her life. There was no way in hell she would be coming back to Forks High in anything less than chains if she had anything to say about it. She was not about to let Principal Greene strong arm her into an _additional _semester here.

Bella's desire to work in the café was equivalent to her desire to juggle skunks. The middle-aged ex-cons that worked back there were creepy enough when you had the food service island between you.

But the sped kids? She'd be covered in body fluids all day and be stuck playing with rubberized equipment.

But it was better than being jumped in the walk-in freezer.

"Fine," she grunted. "I'll work with the speds."

Mr. Greene handed Bella a manila folder. "Here's all the information regarding the Forks High PAL Program. That is the program and policy all student volunteers fall under. You'll find a waiver that needs signing by you and your father. Rules and regulations – which, I warn you, are strictly adhered to – regarding behavior, dress code and what not. The mission and goals as well as the program handbook."

She took the thick folder, feeling her lip curl as he listed off all the crap within that she'd have to read this weekend.

"Now," he continued on as he checked his watch. "There's about a half hour left before this period ends. Why don't you head down to the Resource Room and introduce yourself to Mr. Molina? He runs FHPP."

"I guess," Bella rolled out of the chair and headed for the door. She couldn't really argue at this point. The man wouldn't graduate her. "It's been a slice," she saluted Principal Greene as she left.

The Resource Room it was. That was the room where the kids went to chill out. Like some of the kids that we had in Chorus or gym classes – there were even a few in her American Government class and one boy in her Physics class. But when they got upset or whatever and started flipping out, the paraprofessional with them would escort them to the "Resource Room". Bella had never been in there but it was painted in her mind like a padded room. And now she was going to pay a visit.

She pit-stopped at her locker and dumped the manila folder into her backpack, reminding herself that she'd actually have to bring the backpack home this weekend.

"Isabella!" she heard a singsong voice as she clicked the metal door closed.

"Mary Alice!" she trilled back in a saccharine voice.

She stopped in front of Bella. "Don't call me that," she said pointedly.

"Back atcha, babe," Bella smiled. "Shouldn't you be in AP Calc or Quantum Physics or what have you?" Alice Cullen was a jack-of-all-trades. She was a scientific genius and somehow still found a way to defy all brand of stereotypes and regulations. One day she was a rocker with leather pants and a Nirvana tee, but she could slip on a pencil skirt and a demure cardigan and have tea with the Women's Club. And the next day she'd pull a fire alarm to postpone a history exam.

Alice enjoyed making people wonder. She liked the transience of being able to recreate oneself every morning. As if the outfit or attitude someone put on could shift an entire population's perception of them. For a long time she thought she was lost, that she liked mixing things up so much because she couldn't find her niche. By the time Alice reached high school she just realized she didn't have a niche. She liked to move around and she was comfortable being different every day.

She transcended boundaries of style, class and age with a sort of effortless grace. She was an enigma.

And as a result, Bella's boy Jay had been carrying a torch for her since freshman year. They had all been friends since Alice's family moved in at the beginning of ninth grade but Jasper hadn't yet mustered the pluck to ask her out and take the next step.

"Psha!" Alice flicked her hand. "I'll give those self-righteous science geek males one day to function properly in their own element. I'm headed home. Party tonight? My family will be gone."

"Sure," Bella agreed, "but head along without me. I have to go talk to Mr. Molina about serving time with the sped kids."

Alice quirked a brow at Bella.

"Punishment for setting the bio lab frogs free," Bella answered her silent question. "Jay spaced and forgot to keep an eye out for me."

"Ah," Alice nodded in understanding. "Well, play nice. It's a great group of kids in there."

"I'm sure," Bella replied acidly.

"It's true," Alice continued as she began down the hall towards the same door Jasper had used. "They're not all vegetables or something. They're a lot of fun."

"And Bella?" she called as she clicked the door open. Bella turned from her locker and waited. She smiled lightly and rolled her eyes. "Don't call them speds."

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><p>"All right, Isabella—"<p>

"Bella," she interrupted Mr. Molina out of pure habit. She smiled politely – she could be mature when she wanted to, "Please?"

"All right, _Bella_," he amended, "We'll have you start on Monday. Come in during your independent study? That should average about an hour a day."

"Okay."

"Unfortunately," Mr. Molina sighed glancing behind her into the students in the resource room, "your PAL isn't in today. Otherwise, I would've liked to introduce you. He's not fond of crowds or new people, so we like to phase him into new situations."

"Understandable," Bella nodded. "I can just stop by for a while on Monday? I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable."

"That might be a good idea. Stop by and we'll play it by ear then."

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><p>"Jay?" Bella called into the receiver as she sat on the curb. "It's me. Come pick me up?"<p>

"_Belleza?"_ he sounded surprised. "Skipping class? _Qué tonta._"

"_El burro hablando de orejas!_ Jasper Hale!" she chastised him. "I speak better Spanish than you. Don't call me stupid. Now come and get me."

Bella vented to Jasper all the way to Alice's about her gross punishment. He finally killed the engine in front of her house. "Zee?" he used her longtime nickname. He was the only one she allowed to use it. It was his secret weapon. He was about to unleash a torrent of previously hidden knowledge and wisdom. Because that's what Jasper did. Sometimes Bella swore he was way older than eighteen.

Bella rolled her head on the seat and stared at him. Waiting.

He glanced down at her, read her expression and smiled. "Why don't you take the opportunity and enjoy it. You're going to hang out with a bunch of kids that are friends no matter what they wear. They help each other because it's the nice thing to do. They're purely happy a lot of the time for things we take for granted. They have an uncanny ability to find humor and joy in everyday occurrences. Bask in it."

Bella was still mad at him for bailing on her today so she was less than receptive to what she would later admit was another Jasper Hale Pearl of Wisdom.

She opened the door and glanced back at him. "On Monday, when I'm covered in piss, spit or puke – I'm using your shower." He shook his head as she hopped out and pulled away from the curb.

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><p>Alice's party was going well. Until she got a phone call.<p>

"Ahh!" She ran at Bella screaming, limbs flailing as she mixed drinks behind her bar.

"Alice? What is it?" Bella asked as she ducked below for another glass.

"My parents are coming!" she wailed, clonking her head and arms down on the bar.

"What?" Bella screamed startling the few tipsy kids further down the bar.

"I'm so screwed… They're only a half hour away… What if—" At this point Bella stopped listening. This called for immediate action. They had a half hour and the party had only been going for two. They just might make it.

"Jasper!" Bella shouted, peering over the moving tide of humanity that had gathered on Alice's first floor alone. She saw a blonde head peek up from the crowd. Bless him in all his six foot two inch glory. He found Bella's face and she shouted over the voices and the music. "Evasive Maneuver Twelve!"

Bella wasn't sure he'd hear her over the din, but he gave her the thumbs up and disappeared. She looked down and found tiny little Alice balling on her own bar. "Alice, it'll be fine," Bella reassured her as she began to clean up. "Bar's closed boys," she glanced down at the few kids still sitting. They groaned but slid their glasses towards her.

A moment later Bella saw Jasper come in the front door. He slammed it loud enough to overpower the chaos of the party. There was a brief silence and Jasper yelled, "COPS!"

There was a rush like a flood and the students of Forks High poured from every door. There was the metallic thud of car doors and the grind of asphalt as they all made a break for it.

The mass exodus took five minutes.

"Alice!" Bella shouted – which was now largely unnecessary because only her, Jasper and Alice were left in her house. "We have twenty-five minutes." She picked her tiny shoulders up off the bar, "We can do this. Jasper – you get the yard. Alice – upstairs. I'll get down here. Go!"

Alice nodded and peeled up the stairs. Jasper was already gone.

With five minutes to spare, Alice ran outside and down the block to dump the suspicious trashbags in Jasper's trunk.

Jasper met Bella in the foyer – as she replaced all the breakable stuff from under the sink – and informed her that the yard was set. The back door shut and they heard Alice. "We're all set, but—" she didn't get to finish because the heart stopping tinkle of keys and footsteps on the porch sounded.

Jasper and Bella looked at each other wide-eyed. Jasper was two feet from imminent death. Bella and Jasper could see Dr. Cullen's shadow through the frosted glass. They knew he'd be okay with Bella there. Alice and her were friends. Sleepover. It's fine. But when you threw in Jasper Hale – who had more random ER visits stemming from illegal or just-plain-old-stupid activities – you had a problem.

Bella opened the broom cupboard in the foyer, placed a firm hand on Jasper's chest and shoved.

"The fuck?" he muttered as he fell in.

"Sh!" Bella indicated with her index finger as she shut the door. She skedaddled to the living room where Alice was turning on the TV. Bella could hear the lock turning as she vaulted over the back of the couch and landed safely beside Alice. They managed a fist bump as the door swung open.

They did it. As long as Esme did not intend on cleaning at 10PM they'd be set. God willing, they'd all go upstairs quickly and poor Jasper wouldn't sustain too violent an allergy attack from all the dust he was currently inhaling.

Esme and Carlisle Cullen stepped through the front door with their son – and Alice's brother – Edward. Carlisle didn't look unhappy, but he was visibly tired and Esme looked tense or stressed. Edward just stared at the floor and as his mother opened her mouth to speak to him he stormed loudly up the stairs.

Alice and Bella were watching from the back of the couch as Esme dropped her hand and sighed. Carlisle put his keys on the counter.

"Back so soon?" Alice asked. Originally she was worried about getting caught having a party. But Alice knew her family would only have ended up returning for a less than an appealing reason. Her anxiety over getting caught shifted to an uncomfortable knot of tension in her stomach.

"Yep," Esme sighed. "Nothing too bad. We'll have to try again next month."

Bella had been watching the stairs where Alice's brother had disappeared. In all aspects that Bella could easily see, the two were polar opposites. Alice was small, she had dark hair and dark eyes. She was bright and had a radiant personality. She loved meeting new people and talking with them.

Edward – though Bella had only really been introduced to him a few times – was the yin to Alice's yang. Where she was small and dark Edward was big. Just about six feet tall, he had red-brown colored hair and bright green eyes. The same as Esme's. Bella had only met him those sparing times because he was a lot shier than Alice. When Bella was over, he kept to his room except to eat or watch TV. And then, he was quiet.

Bella was never forced to salvage a conversation with Alice. She was great with people. Edward, not so much.

But for all their differences, Bella could see Alice following her brother upstairs with her stare. She was highly attuned to his shifts in mood and attitude.

Carlisle explained that he had to head to the hospital early the next day and would be heading upstairs. Esme followed with a silent wave.

"Bella," Alice said quietly turning back towards her – not meeting her eyes, staring at their feet bunched on the couch. "Do you think you could help Jasper out? I'm going upstairs for a sec."

Bella didn't need Alice's specifics to know that she was going to check on Edward. Carlisle and Esme largely left the seventeen year-old "just be" in these sorts of instances. Alice was the only one who could reach him. They would never ask of her something so big – they never wanted to put that type of responsibility on her. But Alice never said no.

"Sure, Al," Bella nodded. "I'll be back in a few."

Alice was gone and silently up the stairs before Bella reached the foyer. She quietly popped the door open to see Jasper – arms braced against each wall, preventing his falling and landing on a pile of feather dusters, one foot in the mop bucket and a yellow glove fallen from the shelf and on his shoulder.

"Sorry," she shrugged at him and offered my hand.

He released his grip from one side of the wall, muttering the whole time, "_Besa mi culo, puta_."

"Maybe later, _pendejo. _Let's get you out of here before the good doctor has you arrested, huh?"

"Let's hurry, I gotta sneeze like nobody's business."

The two made it outside, well off the Cullen property and half way to Jasper's car before he exploded in near convulsive fits of sneezing. He actually had to stop walking for a bit because he didn't have any air left in his lungs.

He regained respiratory control and slung his arm over Bella's shoulder as they continued on. "So what's the deal with Alice's brother?" He asked quietly. Jasper, for all his being a bitch, was highly perceptive. He was good with people and read them very well. Changes in tone or mood that were imperceptible to others served as the road map of life for Jasper.

Bella shrugged beneath his arm and wrapped her arms around herself. "No idea, Jay" she shrugged. "Doesn't sound very happy. I don't know much about Edward. I don't see him much."

"Yeah, me neither," Jasper observed. "He was in my Music Theory class… but uh, he mostly kept quiet. Matter of fact, I don't think he said a word the whole time. Always there early though, I could hear him playing that out-of-tune upright in the music room. Guy's pretty good."

When Bella returned to Alice's living room, everything was just like she left it. She wondered what kept Alice, seeing as how Bella had been gone for close to a half hour. Bella figured she was in the bathroom and went into the kitchen and pulled a bag of microwavable popcorn from the cabinet.

She pressed the few buttons and decided to go see if Alice was all right. She began up the stairs, quietly as she could manage. Something about the Cullen house – when it was not full of raging teenagers – just begged silence. It wasn't oppressive or scary. It was rather peaceful, and in this moment – inconvenient. Bella knew where Alice's room was, but not her parents' and she didn't want to wake them. She peeked inside Alice's room – which looked totally undisturbed. Her bathroom door was open, so that idea was scrapped. Even the bathroom off the hall was open.

Bella stalked quietly past the closed door she assumed belonged to Carlisle and Esme. From within, she could hear the dull crackle of the evening news and light talk – but didn't recognize Alice's soprano. Bella reached the end of the hall and still nothing.

She looked up the flight to the third floor. And while it was hardly a forbidden zone, Bella had never been up there on her own and felt rather odd about it. She pulled her reserve, convinced herself to stop being silly and padded up the carpeted flight.

All the doors on this floor were closed, save for the last door on the left. From here, Bella could see light pouring out and moving shadows. Every now and then she caught the air of voices. She began down the hall, still quietly.

"It's all right, it's all right…" she heard Alice's delicate sound. "Would I ever let anyone get you?" There was a shuffling of feet as Alice continued, "Hey… look at me. Sit down with me, please? I know… it's terrifying, but they only mean the best."

"I do not, do not, like it," Bella heard a gruff response. "Why do they make me go, Alice? Why?"

"To help you, of course. To make things a little easier for you."

"I do not get fixed, Alice," was the reply. He sounded upset. "I, I am Edward. I am all right, the way I am."

"Of course!" Alice trilled, "I would love you even if you had another head and purple hair."

"I do not like p-purple…" said Edward decidedly. "What if I looked like Doctor Martin? He, he, he has a big nose."

"Even then," Alice replied. "Though, if you had a big nose, you could smell when Mum's done cooking dinner even sooner…"

Bella didn't continue any further. She slowly backed down the hallway, across the second level and back to the kitchen. The scent of buttery popcorn thrust her back into the real world. The one she left not five minutes ago. The one she felt she'd been gone from for ages. The Cullen house now seemed to her a vortex. The further you climbed up, the more realities changed and slowed.

Bella was hesitant as she took the bag to the couch. She felt more pensive than she normally allowed. She tried to shake it as she turned the TV on.

Alice returned ten minutes later.

The two watched a movie and fell asleep on the couch.

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><p>'<strong>belleza' = beauty; it's also simply a play on her name<strong>

'**El burro hablando de orejas' = literally means 'the donkey talking about ears'. Means, 'the pot calling the kettle black' or 'you're one to talk'.**

'**Besa mi culo, puta' = kiss my ass, bitch.**

'**pendejo' = jackass/asshole**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the late hour, y'all. FFN or the interwebs in general (I really have no idea) was not letting me log on earlier**.

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><p>Jasper had spent the greater part of the weekend reading Bella's PAL manual to her. Bella loved the sound of Jasper's voice. They'd been reading English assignments together for ages. And Bella loved sitting in the soft, lush grass during the summer months as Jasper pulled a book from his pocket and listened to him talk. He always picked something Bella would never expect. Always something different. <em>The Life of Pi, Sense and Sensibility,<em> Virgil, Steinbeck, Hawking.

It didn't matter the subject, the sound of his voice as he fell into a gentle rhythm was magical to Bella. Jasper had been born in Texas and while you couldn't often tell, his accent manifested whenever he read for any length of time. Like drifting back to a more comfortable time and place, Jasper would fall into the story, just as Bella did, and the true happiness of childhood in the dusty heat, the feel of smooth aged wood floorboards and the scent of leather would takeover.

There were occasions – like when he got his tonsils out or he took a vow of silence – that Bella would read to him, but she much preferred his slow, even cadence to her gritty alto.

In many regards it was sacred and unique to them. A special enjoyment they allowed themselves in the brief warmth of the Pacific Northwest.

It was also critical. Bella was finicky now – and though she could read and understand almost anything given to her – she only ever read and listened with Jasper. So it was for this reason Jasper laid with his head down by the foot of her bed on a Sunday morning.

"…All participants must remember that – as a member of the program – they represent Forks High School and will adhere to the given dress code requirements."

He looked down towards the head of the bed and saw Bella texting someone. This was about the only time Jasper had seen her _not_ pay attention. But he supposed he wasn't surprised about this. Bella had absolutely no desire to work with the special education kids. Whatsoever. Regardless of the fact that Greene could've probably expelled her on the spot – given her record. Or at the very least, stopped her from walking graduation.

"Zee?" he called and gently slapped her leg with the handbook. "Listen up. You plan on gettin' dressed tomorrow?"

She rolled her eyes and snapped her phone shut. Jasper smiled and continued. "The following articles are, under no circumstances, allowed. Number one: low cut shirts. Number two: pants of a particularly low-waisted cut and/or skirts exceeding one palm's length above the knee while sitting. Number three: jewelry which can or may become entangled or snagged; this includes, but is not limited to: dangling earrings, facial piercings…"

Jasper noticed that Bella was not paying attention again.

"Number four: all hair must be cut above the shoulder line–"

"What!" Bella shouted sitting up. "There's no way in hell I'm cutting my fucking hair for this!"

Jasper smiled his toothy grin. Bella realized she'd been tricked into paying attention. He'd once convinced her that the word 'gullible' was not in the dictionary. Smug bastard.

"It's true," he told her, barely able to contain his laughter, "right after 'no shaving of legs'."

"_No chingues!" _Bella said, her eyes alighting with frustration. As she reached towards the manual he clutched to his chest.

"Bella," Jasper said on a more serious note as she landed on him, trying to pry the book from him, "you need to at least pay attention to some of this. Otherwise Greene's going to make you stay in Forks. Come on, it's not too bad. You don't really violate any of their dress code regulations as far as I can see… but behavior is another story…"

"My behavior is fine, you jackass."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Jasper said point blank. "I mean… you can't swear, you can't use derogatory language – like _sped_ or _retard_ – that's not allowed. I know you're not happy to be there, but you don't need to display it so openly."

Bella sat up and looked at Jasper through narrowed eyes. He was a different kind of person, Jasper Hale, a total delinquent but he never intentionally hurt another human being and he had a natural instinct for reading situations and people. But Bella never thought it would come to this. He was telling her to play nice, to plaster on a fake smile and just trudge through it. That was the anti-Jasper. Hiding what you truly felt or thought of a situation, he'd always viewed it as cowardice.

"Are you telling me to cop out?" she asked slowly.

"No," he sighed, rather frustrated that she wasn't understanding him. "Look, you might not be happy to see these kids, but they might not be happy to see you either. The only difference is you are possessed of all the abilities to leave – regardless of the consequences of doing so. These kids don't. I'm not asking you to 'cop out'. I'm asking you not to make these kids miserable."

"I can do that," Bella said, her very tone making the statement ironic.

* * *

><p>Monday morning dawned bright and way too goddamn early. The weather had been nice and dry over the weekend. Bella could now coax her arcane Chevy pick-up from the dried, divot-addled dirt. On wet days, it was a totally lost cause. Jasper was her usual mode of transportation.<p>

Bella thought about her and Jasper's morning study session as her truck rolled towards the school. She made a conscious effort this morning when she got dressed. She never really wore anything that actually broke the PAL program's dress code, but she made sure she didn't wear anything that could get caught or ripped on all the stuff in that room or anything those kids were used to. Jeans and concert t-shirt. Good enough.

She rolled the driver's side window down and enjoyed the taste of spring air in the cab as she made her way to another week at Forks High.

* * *

><p>As the bell for the last class of the day echoed through the halls, Bella trudged towards the Resource Room. She'd tied her hair back into a knot, to prevent its curls from becoming a hazard and had taken the carabiner holding her keys off her belt loop and tucked it into her backpack. She was playing nice.<p>

"Hi, Mr. Molina," she waved as she closed the door behind her.

"Thanks for stopping by, Bella," he replied. Bella was pleased that he actually remembered her aversion to her full name. It took less pre-occupied people much longer usually. "Okay, your PAL is here today. Which is excellent, he's coming from another class right now, but why don't you take a seat and we can talk before he gets here?"

Bella sat at the circular table on one side of the room with Mr. Molina. The Resource Room was… odd, at best, Bella thought. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason behind the things contained within it.

One whole wall was bookshelves. There were thin books, thick books, picture books, books on tape, textbooks, large atlases, dictionaries – all sorts. Beneath the windows on the south facing wall were three computers. One had a magnified screen, the other a brightly colored keyboard with a large mouse and the final had a webcam with a microphone clipped to the top of the screen. Tucked in a corner Bella could just make out what she sincerely thought was a trampoline. In addition, there was a case of legos – bigger than she'd ever seen. There were some blankets and sweaters, tucked into a basket with different kinds of brushes and bristled objects.

Opposite the bookshelf wall was an old upright piano. Further down a table with a variety of smaller instruments: drums, xylophones, mallets. And between the two pieces of furniture a filing cabinet. A singular open drawer revealed the familiar sight of sheet music.

This room appeared to Bella a hodge-podge. She wasn't really sure if there was a method to the madness.

"Now," Mr. Molina began, pulling Bella from her observations. "I recognize that you are not certified to work with the special needs community. And that's not why we have the PAL program. As you read in the handbook – I'm sure – the goal of the program is simply to build more bridges between the students participating in the Special Education programs in Forks and the mainstreamed students."

Bella nodded. She may or may not have remembered that part.

"That being said, PAL – more or less – is designed as a social unit. We want to create bonds and understanding throughout the spectrum of students we educate."

"PAL works with highly verbal students, some high functioning autism as well. Most of the students involved at this stage have a few mainstreamed classes – so you've probably seen them before. The program is relatively new and we've begun by involving only a select group of students."

Bella was at least partially relieved to know she wouldn't be dropped into a totally foreign situation. Her experience was zilch and she would feel pretty bad if she had some kid she couldn't understand. After thinking about it, she did agree with Jasper: she had the choice to be here. She never strove to make people miserable and she wasn't about to start here and now.

"A few things you should know about your PAL," Mr. Molina continued. "He doesn't react well to sudden movement. You don't seem to be that type of person but, just keep your movements measured. He hates loud noises, so that includes the bell."

"Okay…" Bella didn't know what to make of this. Maybe she was getting in deeper than she thought. There were already so many seemingly arbitrary things that would upset this kid. She wouldn't be surprised if she forgot something so she wracked her mind, trying to remember everything Mr. Molina said.

"He will probably not make eye contact with you but he'll hold a conversation well enough. You can talk about most things – outside of most pop-culture anyways. He becomes very micro-focused so there's a very good chance that he will spend the period doing the same activity, but today is our shorter day and it's an 'elective' period, so the students get to choose their activity."

"Okay?" Bella was not going to remember all of this. She just hoped she didn't get kicked out.

"I and the other para-professionals and the other teachers will be in here the whole time. It's just one room. Don't sweat it. If you need us, don't hesitate to ask. Just think of this like… 'hanging out', okay?"

The late bell rang and a few more students trickled in with some of the people Bella assumed were the 'para-professionals'. Some had their hands clapped over their ears. One girl was wearing a helmet decorated with daisies and the last boy kept counting to seven.

"Ah here's your PAL now, Bella." Mr. Molina waved his hand towards a student who entered with the group. He was tall with vivid auburn hair. And for a moment Bella could've sworn she was seeing things. But how many look-a-likes did a person come across in a small town? She tried not to swallow her tongue as Mr. Molina fed her this one bit of information she already knew: "Edward Cullen."

* * *

><p>Bella sat in a relative haze of shock as Edward waved to her. "Hello."<p>

"Hi," she muttered. Edward left his backpack on the table and took a seat, leaving one empty one between him and Bella. "I think… I mean, I'm friends with your sister."

"Alice is my only sister," Edward replied focusing on the laminate table top. "Yes. I have seen you before, Isabella Swan."

"You can call me Bella," she replied. Normally the use of her full name irritated her. From Edward though it was just different. She wasn't sure how he knew her full name.

"But your name is Isabella." He stated it as fact, not as a moment of confusion.

Bella nodded her head, "Yeah, but Bella is my nickname. It's how I like people to call me. Do people always call you Edward? Does anyone ever call you Ed or Ted?"

"I am Edward. You are Isabella," his gaze began to wander to a point above Bella's left shoulder. Then he spoke again, but Bella didn't think he was necessarily talking _to_ her. It sounded like he was just stating information. "Isabella Swan, 43 Quillayute Road, Forks, Washington; September 13, 1987."

Bella just sat dumbfounded as he repeated all her vital information back to her. "How do you know all that?"

"I saw your driver's license on my kitchen table once."

"Once?"

"Yes," Edward nodded. He'd now taken to staring at Bella's elbow – slowly moving closer to making eye contact. "I am very good a remembering things. And numbers. I like numbers."

"Really?" Bella decided to use this as a launch pad for conversation. Otherwise she really had no other idea of how to start one. She didn't know what would be inappropriate or just not make sense. "So you like math?"

"I am very good at doing math"

"What else do you like to do?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" What the hell kind of answer was that, Bella thought. She just shrugged it off. "Well, what do you normally do during this class? I don't want interrupt or change things up too much."

Edward shrugged – back to staring at the table. Bella nodded. _Great._

The remainder of the class passed that way. They both sat in relative silence. Every now and then another student would talk to Edward or ask him a question or show him something and he responded. Bella spent the last fifteen minutes of the class flicking a bottle cap back and forth between her hands on the laminate tabletop.

She began to lose focus and the bell rang – startling her out of her daze. "See you tomorrow," she raised her hand to wave. Edward was already half way out the door. She let her head bonk down on the table as the room emptied.

"How was it?" the familiar voice of Mr. Molina inquired.

"Awkward?" Bella replied. "In the extreme."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better: you're probably the only one that felt that way."

"What?" she said with disbelief as she picked her head off the table. "After _that _you cannot possibly tell me that he doesn't think _this_ whole thing is beyond bizarre?"

"Nope," Mr. Molina shook his head. "That's just not the way his brain processes social information."

* * *

><p>Bella was torn. Did she tell Jasper about her surprise PAL? She had honest to goodness never expected Edward Cullen to materialize in that room. She'd known Alice since middle school. She'd never really seen much of Edward but still had never known that he had special needs. He always just seemed really anti-social. Alice never mentioned it. Bella never pushed it.<p>

Part of the deal was that Bella didn't know what Edward's condition was. It wasn't pertinent information and certainly never to be shared with another student. But Bella was at a loss. _What was wrong with him?_ He looked and acted and did things perfectly fine. He just… didn't know how to talk to people. It was as if he was totally deprived of social skills.

Bella thought her last period class over as her forehead pressed against the cool glass of Jasper's car. He had surprised her earlier with his pep talk, but she wasn't sure how he'd react. For now, she kept it to herself; he never actually asked _who _she had – therefore she didn't feel like she was lying. Per se.

"Jay?" she finally asked as they pulled into her driveway. He had asked her mostly innocuous questions, mostly probing to find out if she'd offended anyone yet. "Have you ever… seen someone – just like really quick – without ever going beneath the surface and then you really meet them later and it's just…

"A complete 180?" he offered.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Happens all the time. I s'pose that's where the phrase 'don't judge a book by it's cover' comes from. You can rarely judge a person by appearances."

"But we do it all the time."

"Yes. Yes we do."

Bella had judged Edward as being a typical teenager. Normal. She was wrong.

* * *

><p>'<strong>No chingues!' = don't screw around<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Tuesday passed much the same as Monday. Edward spent the period doing his math homework. He was in AP Calculus and Bella watched in amazement as he whirled through the problems and equations like he was simply copying the answers from an unseen key.

Afterwards, he spent a half hour bent over a Shakespeare textbook. Bella watched his change in demeanor. It was a total shift. He went from 'in the zone' and totally comfortable and competent to frustrated and irritated. His brow was furrowed and he played absently with the edge of the book. Finally, he gave up and snapped it shut altogether.

"What's up?" Bella asked. "What's wrong?"

"I do not understand. Shakespeare," he clarified, "his words do not make sense to me."

Bella bit down on her lip wondering if she should take the unintentional bait. Literature was her forte. If there was one thing Bella did and excelled at it was the written word. She didn't know what kind of can of worms she would open by offering to help – especially since Edward didn't seem the kind of person inclined to the less mechanical arts of the world.

In the end, Bella decided that _she _would want help if she was really that flustered with her homework. And if someone intentionally kept quiet – she'd be pissed.

"Do you want some help? I'm pretty good with this kind of thing…" Bella felt a little nervous. She didn't know how Edward would receive her offer and he already being a bit of genius didn't do much to boost her confidence. She didn't want to get halfway through an explanation only to have him call her on something.

Edward simply opened his book back to the proper page and slid it carefully towards Bella. "The one at the top," he specified.

_Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?_

_Thou art more lovely and more temperate:_

_Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,_

_And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:_

_Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,_

_And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;_

_And every fair from fair sometime declines,_

_By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:_

_But thy eternal Summer shall not fade_

_Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;_

_Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,_

_When in eternal lines to time thou growest:_

_So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,_

_So long lives this, and this gives life to thee._

Yes. Bella did an internal victory dance at the sight of Shakespeare's most popular sonnet. She didn't know how she'd explain one of the more obscure ones, especially when she only occasionally understood them in abstraction.

"Okay," she mumbled her confidence boosting. "So Shakespeare is comparing this person to a summer's day. Because summer is supposed to be really nice and beautiful."

Bella looked up and it didn't appear as if anything was making it through. She decided on a different course of action. "Have you ever been to the beach, Edward?" she asked. "During the summer, when it's really nice out and the day is beautiful?"

"Yes."

"And you have a lot of fun with friends or family because the weather is so great?"

"Yes."

"Okay. That's kind of what Shakespeare's talking about. This person is just as beautiful as that perfect summer beach day. Now, you know how even when the summer's really nice it can get way too hot or their can still be some really bad storms?"

He nodded.

"Well, Shakespeare says this person's beauty is the same way. Sometimes they aren't always a perfect day at the beach – sometimes it's just too hot or too cloudy." Bella checked to see that Edward was still with her. "But that's just how summer's are. They aren't always nice weather. Just the same way as this person won't always be young or beautiful."

Bella paused here and Edward opened his mouth to speak, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "He thinks this person is really pretty but he knows that they'll get old just like the rest of us one day?"

"Exactly," Bella replied in relief.

"Why doesn't he just _say _it that way?"

"Sometimes," Bella offered, "it's easier to write how you really feel if you don't think anyone will know what you're talking about." Bella was quiet for a moment before finishing her explanation of the sonnet. "In this last part, Shakespeare says that he wrote this poem to preserve this person's beauty. Everyone will remember him or her just as they are – just like a photograph. The person is immortal now, preserved in the poem as a beautiful summer day."

"But that can't happen," Edward stated flatly. "No one can be immortal."

"No," Bella agreed, "But everyone will remember this person because there is this poem that talks about them."

"I don't understand."

"Well, let's see. You don't know anyone from the sixteenth century, right? Anyone that isn't historical. You don't know of any regular person?"

"No," Edward agreed. "I was not born. I don't know people that old."

"Exactly. And why would you, right? _But_ you know about this person Shakespeare talks about – even if we don't know his or her name. That's how they're immortal."

"So not _really_ immortal. Just this way?"

"Mhm," Bella nodded. "Metaphorically."

"That's silly," Edward mused.

* * *

><p>On Wednesday, Bella took a leap of faith and when Edward pulled out his Calculus notebook she pulled out her textbook.<p>

"Edward?" she asked. "I was wondering if you could help me?"

For a moment he just sort of stared at her. She finally asked if he could just do the problem – slowly – while she watched. She slid over a chair – finally closing that one chair gap that had existed between them since day one. She watched Edward begin the problem and followed along well given his impeccable handwriting. At the point where she normally got lost she stopped him.

"Wait," she said. "Okay, what just happened there?" She pointed to the new and seemingly random equation on the page. "How did you get _that_ from _that_?"

Edward explained as best he could and Bella mostly understood – to the point where she was fairly confident she could try herself. She took the book back and asked that Edward watch and make sure she did it right this time.

He peered over her shoulder and at the usual spot in the process she got stuck. "No, no, no!" Edward warned her. "Not yet. First the integral."

That was the first time Bella had finished her Calculus homework with any degree of accuracy.

* * *

><p>Thursday, Bella was asked into Mr. Greene's office for a check up of her progress. Bella trudged down to the main office and plopped into her usual chair.<p>

"So, Bella how've things been going?" Mr. Greene asked casually.

"Well, same old same old. I got some laundry that really needs doing. The newest episode of _True Blood_ was kind of a disappointment and I was forced to eat croutons for breakfast because I haven't been grocery shopping in two and half weeks. How about you Mr. Greene?"

Mr. Greene rubbed a slow rhythm over his brow – aware and not unaccustomed to Bella's sarcasm. "I was speaking in regards to your participation in the PAL program."

"Oh. Things are fine."

"I have had good reports from Mr. Molina," Mr. Greene hedged.

"Well, let's take it easy now – don't want you people thinking I'm any kind of good."

* * *

><p>Friday was a special day, indeed. Bella was quite pleased to be moving into the weekend and the daze of a Saturday filled with nothingness was already falling upon her like a heavy blanket by the time her last period rolled around.<p>

She mostly took to watching Edward fiddle with the old upright in the classroom. Bella wondered idly if she'd ever seen him more comfortable or relaxed. It just seemed natural for him. The piano was definitely his element.

Bella hummed along as Edward played casually through a song. "Do you know this song, Isabella?"

Bella smiled slightly. "Of course. Elton John is a classic. And I always imagined myself a dancer until I realized I didn't have the coordination to walk a straight line."

"I do not dance very well, either. I try not to. It makes me feel embarrassed."

"Anytime you dance next to me, Edward, you'll look like a pro – trust me. Because I'm a mess. But that doesn't mean it can't still be fun."

"Sometimes it is hard to have fun when you feel too silly."

"I can see your point."

As Edward opened his mouth to speak again, an ear-piercing siren echoed through the previously calm classroom and the halls of the school. _A firedrill_, Bella thought. _Fantastic._ Edward's hands snapped immediately to his ears and Bella could've sworn she'd never seen a quicker change in demeanor. His face went from calm and placid to rough and dark. He was clearly upset and if Bella could hear over the sound of the fire alarm and the other students in the room, she would've heard the awful noises Edward himself was making.

Mr. Molina and the other teachers were busy helping the less mobile students from the classroom and Bella was momentarily panicked. What should she do? As Edward began rocking in place at the piano bench and visibly pulling at his hair, Bella lunged across the table where both their book bags were. She snatched up the large aviator headphones off the table and pulled her iPod from her pocket. She snapped on the Debussy playlist that Jasper had forced upon her earlier that week and handed Edward the headphones.

Once they snapped over his ears, Edward's hysteria lessened. Bella stood and waved him towards her and the door. In a desperate plea for him to follow her, she offered her hand – even though she had learned that Edward really disliked physical contact with others. She was absolutely flabbergasted when he reached out and grabbed her fingers. Bella lead the two of them to the door in her fog of shock. She dropped some serious elbow action as she fought her way out of the crowded hall, which only seemed to make Edward more uncomfortable. As the school filed out of the building and towards the football field, Bella managed to find Mr. Molina and the rest of the class.

Their presence was accounted for and Bella felt her center of gravity tug again, only to have Edward now lead the charge away from the edge of the gathered student population to the entirely empty endzone. Bella wasn't sure what to do, so she just let him tug her along. Evenutally he sat down with his back to the masses and released her hand. She sat next to him a few inches away and watched the iPod in her hand as it slowly ran through her meager classical music selection.

After a few minutes, Edward slid the large headphones off. He was quiet and looked around slowly before he spoke. "You have very nice music, Isabella. I like piano music, as well."

Bella swallowed once before answering, not really sure what just happened. "Th-thanks," she replied. "I got it from my friend Jasper. Jasper Hale? Maybe you know him. I can burn you a copy if you like."

"That is very nice of you," Edward nodded. "I know Jasper. He was in my Music Theory class. He is a nice boy, but he dresses funny."

Bella's nose crinkled as she suppressed a laugh. "You're right, Edward. He does dress funny."

At this point, little Alice came bounding through the mass of gathered students and towards Edward and Bella. "Goodness gracious," she chirped lightly, but Bella noticed the manic set to her face. "What are you guys doing over here all alone?"

"You know I do not like the fire alarms, Alice," Edward spoke quickly. "Isabella came with me. She has been very helpful."

Alice glanced wide-eyed up to Bella. "Don't look so surprised," Bella replied to Alice's look. "I can be helpful. I'm getting the hang of this."

"Apparently," Alice smiled wryly. She glanced over the top of Edward and Bella's heads. "It looks like we're all set to head inside. You guys coming?"

Edward stood silently and walked a few feet ahead of Alice and Bella. "What was _that_ all about?" Bella asked Alice. "It's not like I'm going to kill the boy."

"It has nothing to do with you, Bella," Alice remarked as she looped her arm through her friend's. "It's just that Edward's reactions to particular stimuli really frighten some people. Catch them off guard. When I saw you two together, I just figured… Well, I didn't want you to feel alone or in over your head."

"He actually wasn't that bad," Bella supplied. "I just gave him the classical music that Jay gave me and he let me lead him out of the school."

Alice quirked a brow, "He let you lead him?"

"Yeah," Bella nodded. "Pretty much just let me tug him out of the building by the hand."

"Wow," Alice stopped at the door to the school. "That's amazing. Bella," she emphasized, "you've probably noticed that Edward doesn't like to touch people or be touched. He's sensitive to contact like that. The fact that he electively allowed you to take him by the hand and his reactions didn't get any worse… that's wonderful."

Alice gasped through the last part of her explanation. She looked giddy and bubbling over with excitement and happiness.

Bella didn't know what to say.

* * *

><p>Bella and Jasper skipped into school on Monday. They only had five more days of high school left.<p>

Jasper even made a point of actually stopping in at all his classes. Something he hadn't done since at least December. And Bella didn't grouse too much when Mr. Greene called her in for a weekly check up. She was actually kind of offended that he thought she would royally screw up. What was she going to do? Call a student stupid? Start a fight? Jeez… Then again, she supposed she hadn't given anyone in administration much cause to think well of her.

Edward wasn't in the Resource Room during last period. Normally, Bella would've reveled in an allowed free block. But it felt strange.

She was disappointed.

* * *

><p>On Tuesday, they played word games. A nerdy pastime that Bella had never admitted to anyone who wasn't Jasper. And Edward practiced some jokes on her – he told her he was trying to improve his social skills. Some of them were genuinely funny, some of them were funny because Edward's delivery was so botched.<p>

Both made her cry with laughter. Especially that one about the one about the nun and the giraffe. Edward told her she smiled a lot.

* * *

><p>On Wednesday, he asked her to prom.<p>

* * *

><p>"Jay, what am I supposed to do?"<p>

"I dunno, _belleza_," he offered as they sat on the trunk of his car. "The boy asked you, not me. I think the socially acceptable thing is to say yes or no. I mean, you could given him a tuna sandwich or started throwing things but I don't think those are considered normal responses to questions."

"No," Bella reached up to smack her face. She took a breath and leaned forward, propping her arms on her knees. "I already told him yes, but Greene banned me from all extracurriculars. The only way he would let me walk graduation was by doing this PAL thing. I'm not _allowed_ to go to prom."

"Bella Swan," Jasper grinned in that half omniscient way. "Never in a million years would I suspect you of being upset about not being able to go to prom. You're turning into quite the girl. Next thing you know you'll be wearing skirts or doing your make up."

"I have a vagina, Jay, it's allowed. But that doesn't solve my problem."

Jasper was quiet for a minute, as he leaned against the back window. "Why'd you say 'yes'?"

Bella chewed her bottom lip for a moment. "He kinda took me by surprise," she admitted swinging her legs around below her. "I mean, I didn't just blurt it out. I meant it. I mean, going to prom's supposed to be a right of passage in Western society and all that and if I had to go with someone, well, Edward is pretty fun to be around."

"So you want to go?" Jasper confirmed. She nodded her head. "Well then, I think your only option is to petition Greene about it. Prom's on Friday, girlfriend. It's Wednesday."

Bella turned around and glanced around the parking lot of Forks High. They'd been sitting here for at least an hour, but maybe…

"He left fifteen minutes ago."

* * *

><p>"Bella? I never expected you to arrive here without my asking. This is a surprise."<p>

"Mr. Greene, I wanna go to prom."

Mr. Greene put his pen down and glanced up at the young girl pacing a quick circuit around his very small office. Bella Swan had always been bright, but her authority-issues had put her on the fast track to in-house suspension more often then allowed her intellect to shine through.

And then there was Jasper Hale. Mr. Greene wasn't quite sure who was a better influence on whom. And at this point he was sure he'd never figure it out.

"Why, praytell, this sudden interest? Bella you haven't attended anything this school has had to offer that wasn't mandatory."

She continued to pace and her mouth twitched a little, like she was talking to herself or trying to figure out what to say.

"I have a date," she muttered.

"Well, unfortunately, you're going to have to find something else to do with your evening. If you recall, part of the consequences of your breaking into the science lab was a biweekly detention and you were not allowed to attend any extracurricular activities the school had to offer."

"This is different," she growled.

"How so?" Mr. Greene wondered if in her last few days at Forks High Bella had somehow grown sentimental about the institution of high school. He rather doubted it, but he couldn't figure out why the heck she'd be so adamant about going to prom.

"Edward asked me. He wants to go. And considering I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have gone otherwise it only seems fair. It's actually not about me, Mr. Greene."

Mr. Greene leaned back in his chair. Well that sure as hell complicated things. "Bella…"

"Hours!" her eyes lit up and she finally actually stopped her pacing to look at him. She grinned with her revelation and placed her hands on his desk. "I need more hours. Edward wasn't in class on Tuesday and that fire drill on Monday cut out a large portion of class time. I'm still short on hours. If you let me go to prom, we'll call it even."

"Bella," Mr. Greene said in his tired way. "I can't ethically allow you to go to prom as an act of community service or charity."

"You won't let me go any other way!" Bella shouted. "It's not charity. I _want_ to go. _Edward_ wants to go. And I get that I've fucked up eight ways to Sunday in my four years here and I get that I'm not technically allowed to go. And it's not like I didn't think it through when he asked, but I know it means a lot to him and not letting me go punishes him – that's the reason I'm in here asking you for this Mr. Greene."

Mr. Greene paused and watched Bella appraisingly. He decided to ignore the shouting and swearing this time.

"Fine," Mr. Greene, conceded. "I only allow this because of the affects it will have on another student. You will finish your week with the PAL program. Prom will not count for hours. Whatever you finish the week with, you finish the week with. However, these are extenuating circumstance, Miss Swan, please do not make me regret my decision."

Mr. Greene was quite surprised when Bella extended her arm for a firm handshake.

* * *

><p>"So now what am I supposed to do, <em>belleza<em>?" Jasper smirked at her.

Bella rolled her eyes as she dug through her locker. Four years on and the thing had turned to quite a pit. She was systematically trying to weed out the trash in her last few days so Friday wasn't horrendous. "Go stag? You're a guy, that's totally fine. Wait—why do you want to go to prom?"

"Well, now my best friend's gonna be there," Jasper grinned as he leaned against the locker next to hers. "It makes it slightly more worthwhile."

"Maybe you can finally put that torch you been carrying to use and ask Alice." Bella was beyond done being subtle with this boy.

"But that would require growing a pair, m'dear."

Bella shook her head. "Balls are weak sensitive. You want durability and strength? Grow a vagina."

* * *

><p>"Jasper," Bella sighed. "I look like a moron."<p>

"You do not look like a moron," came the stifled reply from within Bella's closet. Between her mother and occasionally Alice, lots of spare articles of fabulousness had made their way into her closet and to the far back unused recesses over the years.

She knew she should've had something to wear to prom, she just didn't know what. And she'd be lying if she ever claimed to have more fashion sense than Jasper.

"Royal blue looks good with your hair and skin," he insisted before there was a crash and the sound of something hitting the wall followed by some colorful swearing. There was also some muttering about always ending up in people's closets. A few minutes worth of scrambling later and Jasper emerged. "Okay, I lied. The dress with the Vans does make you look like a moron."

He then proceeded to throw a pair of flats at her.

"This isn't to informal?" she asked looking down at herself awkwardly like she might've been wearing a suit of armor. "Aren't prom dresses supposed to be long or ridiculously poofy?"

Jasper leaned against the closet's doorframe and folded his arms. "Nah, cut and fabric is formal enough. It goes to your knees, that's fine. You just been watching too many movies. All you gotta do is brush your hair and slap on some face and that should be fine."

Bella was thinking she might need something for rolling stomach too.

* * *

><p>So maybe Jasper had been right.<p>

Bella did look pretty good after a shower and shave and a hair brush. The same could have been said for Jasper.

She practiced walking around in her kitchen so as not to scuff the shiny silver flats and sitting so she didn't flash all present. Charlie was slightly amused and highly disturbed by the whole affair. After Jasper educated her on formal place setting they were good to go.

Bella tried not to grin too much on the ride over to the Cullen house. Jasper had grown himself a metaphorical vagina and asked Alice to prom. Bella knew that Alice was over the moon about it. She also knew Jasper was nervous as hell. She laced her hand through Jasper's as he drove and smiled at his stoic attempt to hide his anxiety.

"Don't be so tense, Jay," Bella offered in a friendly, totally snark-free manner. "Alice is really excited. And you clean up quite well." She reached up and tucked a stray fly away back into his tamed mop.

"Alice is always excited, Bella."

"It has more to do with you than with anything else," she assured him. They pulled into a corner store and split some antacid before getting back on their way.

* * *

><p>"Oh my <em>god<em>! Bella, you look like a girl!" Alice shrieked when she opened the door.

"Tell me about it," Bella grinned doing a small spin on the front step. She wasn't a typical twirler, but the dress flared out in an ever so magical way if she spun at just the right speed. She tried to translate all her nervous energy about new situations into her smile. Because she was still a bit excited. "Are you guys ready?" she asked. "Where's your brother?"

"He's coming," Alice replied. She glanced over her shoulder at Jasper still coming from the car and took the moment to beam at Bella. "I'm really excited about this Bella. So is Edward. But he's really nervous."

"That makes two of us," she insisted with a nod. "I think it'll be okay, though. We're gonna have fun."

"Good," Alice smiled before glancing up. "_Lilies!_ Jasper you shouldn't have! They're my favorite how did you know?"

* * *

><p>"You ready for this?"<p>

"I'm not sure."

"I think you are."

"I am a little nervous."

"Yeah, me too. But we'll stick together. It'll be fine."

"Do you think so?"

"Yeah, and we look fucking awesome."

"Let's go then."

Edward and Bella had been pondering the door that allowed them entry to their prom for about ten minutes before they actually got up the chutzpah to go inside.

"This isn't so bad," Bella insisted as she sat at the table with her friends.

"Bella, even a caveman could go to prom," Alice rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you doubt your own capabilities."

"Because Jasper only just explained to me what a salad fork was an hour ago."

The food was good and their small awkward group loosened up through the course of conversation. They were actually having fun. Alice dragged Jasper off at some point to socialize with others and Bella and Edward contented themselves with people watching and talking about infinity (well, Edward liked math and Bella liked to philosophize, so it occupied them well enough).

There was a small lull in their conversation and before Bella couldn't help it before she spoke aloud. "Do you want to dance?" Edward looked immediately shocked. He didn't dance well, she remembered, and he didn't like being embarrassed. "It's a slow song," she insisted. "So it's really hard to mess up. All you have to do is move back and forth."

"I'm not sure."

"We can try and if you want to stop, we'll stop."

"Okay. I like that idea."

The pair found a spot at the edge of the dance floor with an easy path for escape and plenty of personal space. Bella knew Edward wasn't fond of crowds. He got the hand placement all right and then they just had to figure out the moving part.

"I think it's better if you go in time to the music, Isabella," Edward suggested.

"I told you I'm a terrible dancer. You're the boy, aren't you supposed to lead? Lead away, I'm tone deaf."

Edward took a moment and helped redirect Bella to the beat of the song. "You can hear the tempo. It is just like counting. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Two beats, then two beats."

All things considered she was having a lot of fun. It was nice to hang out with Edward outside the Resource Room. Especially now that he didn't seem so nervous or closed-off around her. The only part of the evening that was making her uncomfortable was the spare comments she heard people whispering. Okay, it didn't make her uncomfortable... it made her angry. But Jasper made her promise not hit or assault anyone when she was in a dress. He also had to remind her that she was only here as a grace from Mr. Greene and hitting Lauren Mallory _might_ have been considered a betrayal of that handshake they shared. Fuck it, Bella thought. She was having fun and who cared if people were talking about her or Edward or what they were doing here _together. _She was firmly decided that some people would never get it and she wasn't about force them too. She had learned that some people needed to realize things in their own time.

Bella glanced down at their feet and tried to find her rhythm. "I think I get it. I don't know how you do that so easily."

"Music is not so hard. It's just counting while you listen. Shakespeare is hard."

"I guess we're just very different then," Bella offered, glancing up only momentarily. She didn't want to step on Edward's feet.

"I think we are just good at different things."

"Well, that's good. You definitely helped me pass my Calc final. But I don't know what I've ever helped you with. I can't even dance."

"You help me with lots of things, Isabella."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The End.<strong>_


End file.
